Rubio, Hegseth, and Musk…Oh My!
Trump is moving really fast picking his Cabinet secretaries and senior staff. I think he’s doing a phenomenal job at that. I know a few of them have been chose already, but there are some wild picks that came in last night that I want to address.
Top pick for Secretary of State: Marco Rubio. The three big options for Secretary of State were Bill Hagerty (the senator from Tennessee, former Ambassador to Japan under Trump), Ric Grenell (former Acting DNI under Trump, former Ambassador to Germany), and Marco Rubio (obviously, senator from Florida). I don’t think you can really go wrong with those choices. I think there were other names up for consideration that might have given conservatives more pause, but of those three guys, they are all pretty solid with different strengths.
Generally, of the three, Rubio is probably the most “new right,” or common-good conservative, or an all-around traditional conservative. Some people are going to have issues with Rubio on various votes he’s taken in the Senate. One example that dogged him during the 2016 presidential run was his vote for a sort of amnesty package early in his Senate career. So, people are going to say, “I don’t know if we trust Marco Rubio.” But, whatever weaknesses a candidate might have on this vote or that vote, if you look at the roles they’re being put into, those don’t really seem to matter. Okay, so Marco Rubio some years ago took a vote that was a little weaker on immigration than conservatives would like — how would that affect his position as Secretary of State? He’s not going to have any say over the border. Trump already put a hardliner in as Border Czar, someone extremely hardcore and exactly the kind of guy you’d want in charge of deportations. For Secretary of State, I think Rubio is actually a really good pick.
Next up, Mike Huckabee is the pick for Ambassador to Israel. This is a great choice. There is basically no one in America who has a better relationship with the State of Israel than Mike Huckabee. He’s an all-around great guy, a conservative loyal to Trump. His daughter was Trump’s Press Secretary, and now she’s the governor of Arkansas. Huckabee himself was governor of Arkansas and ran for president in 2008. Very solid conservative who’s been on the national scene for years. Obviously, a good choice for Ambassador to Israel.
Then, we have the big one — the one that’s making the libs’ heads completely explode — Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. If you’re not familiar with Pete, you probably are, but if not: Pete is one of the hosts on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” He has a great background with a couple of Bronze Stars, he’s a combat veteran, and a graduate of Princeton and Harvard. He’s been successful on TV and in conservative media, spreading conservative ideas.
This is making the libs’ heads explode because they’re saying, “Well, this man has never even worked for a defense contractor or as a lobbyist for the military-industrial complex. This man can’t be Secretary of Defense.” What qualifications does Pete have? Well, I don’t know — combat vet, served in the military for many years, graduate of two prestigious universities, ran a nonprofit for veterans. What’s the problem? The issue seems to be that he’s also good on TV. So? Ronald Reagan was once asked if an actor could be president, and he said, “How could the president not be an actor?” That’s absolutely right — a chief part of your job in politics is communicating with people. The fact that you have a guy with a serious military pedigree and a strong political knowledge base who also happens to be a good communicator seems like an ideal pick for Secretary of Defense.
For the Department of Homeland Security, we’ve got Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota. Some people wonder if Kristi Noem has the toughness needed for DHS. She was pretty tough during COVID — one of the few governors skeptical of the mass lockdowns. If she treats the cartel criminals at the border the way she wrote about that dog in her memoir, we’re in good shape. And if anyone thinks she’s too moderate, don’t forget we already have a hardline Border Czar who’s going to handle deportations. DHS is a broader department, and Noem is a good communicator who’s been loyal to Trump.
White House Counsel will be William McGinley, getting praise all around from conservative lawyers with credibility. John Ratcliffe is the pick for CIA Director — he’s a former DNI and Texas Congressman, so that seems fine to me.
A fan-favorite pick for many is the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. We knew Elon would be put in charge of some cost-cutting program in the government. Elon has said that the government is bloated with way too many overlapping departments, so he’ll cut through that. Some people ask if Elon Musk has the time — he’s running a car company, launching rockets, and trying to colonize Mars. But he’s sharing the role with Ramaswamy, who’s also extremely intelligent, ambitious, and successful.
Now, this number will change with new appointments, but the average age of Trump’s Cabinet is 47, while Biden’s Cabinet averaged 59 years old. That’s a 12-year difference. This is shaping up to be a young administration, which I think is really smart.
